|
|
Post by jessejames on Jan 26, 2020 17:32:09 GMT -6
Jesse arrived at the dismal island later than he'd expected to, and the moonlight certainly didn't do the town any favors. The walls were cracked and the paint was peeling. The roads had become almost useless. Once prosperous, the town had been in a state of decline for decades. But he didn't come to visit the town; he came to investigate the disappearances occurring in the forest.
The trees themselves looked over the town ominously, pressing in on it from all sides. It was massive, and could take awhile to search. Still, he'd had more broad cases before. No one was sure what was happening, but Jesse suspected a serial killer or demons lurked in the forest, and he was equipped to deal with just such a situation.
On entering the forest, he realized how eerily quiet everything was. The only sounds to be heard were his own breathing and the crunching of leaves under his shoes. There weren't the usual animal noises that accompany the night, like crickets and owls.
|
|
|
|
Post by softscales on Jan 27, 2020 7:46:37 GMT -6
The town he passed used to be just as prosperous as a typical one when living on a island. Yet the happy town was now in shambles, nearly taken over by mother nature again. Nobody knows why. Nor do they know what happened to the people how lived there. It had become a ghost island and nobody new had set foot on it for years. Jesse had no idea the danger he was stepping into.
The forest was nearly as quiet as the empty town. Strange for it seemed there weren't any nocturnal creatures out. Even the air seemed to have a eerie silence. Yet it wasn't as empty as it sounded. Shadows no bigger than a small dog were out when they noticed something walking in the woods. It was a human.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessejames on Jan 27, 2020 20:30:39 GMT -6
He stepped cautiously, his scythe ready in his hand just in case he needed it. A fog was beginning to roll in as the moon climbed higher into the sky. The shadows played tricks at the edges of his peripheral vision. The whole forest felt as if it were holding it's breath, waiting for something. He'd expected trails or something of the sort, but everything was unkempt and overgrown. How could there be disappearances in the forest if no one came to it in the first place? Still, he thought, maybe he wasn't in far enough. The clues were out there somewhere-he just had to find them.
|
|
|
|
Post by softscales on Jan 27, 2020 22:18:15 GMT -6
Suddenly three shapes burst out of the overgrown grass. They were small no bigger than a small dog with bodies best described like a toad. Their skin was rock gray. A pale ooze glistened their backs. The three surrounded the human. One of them inflated their sac on their throat. Opening it's mouth a vile glob of purple sludge hurled through the air towards the human.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessejames on Jan 27, 2020 23:08:46 GMT -6
He was alert to danger and thus not caught off guard.He dodged the sludge, and it burned through the tree behind him like acid. Better avoid that, he thought to himself. He followed up by lunging forward toward the one at the left, changing direction last second and bringing the blade of his scythe through the rightmost beast. The silver was forged specifically to cut through most demon flesh like a knife through butter. He dodged some more sludge-the toads were common demons, who thought more like animals than humans and therefore lacked the intellect to strategize- and he soon finished the two off.
Now he was curious. What else was lurking in the forest? He continued on to find out.
|
|
|
|
Post by softscales on Jan 28, 2020 7:17:58 GMT -6
Asatoads were a low demon but still dangerous with their poison sludge. Yet they were not the worst the island had for inhabitants. The island's hidden mystery had too much to hide if he were to unfold it.
The commotion from the earlier scuffle caught the attention of another creature that was out hunting for the night. This creature was higher up than a Asatoad.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessejames on Jan 28, 2020 23:12:13 GMT -6
He trudged through the dense undergrowth. Normally when his path was barred, he would slash through with his scythe, but tonight he was trying to use paths others might have taken. The fog was thickening along the forest floor, but so far it was nothing to worry about.
|
|
|
|
Post by softscales on Jan 28, 2020 23:44:50 GMT -6
Or so he thought. For hit foot managed to step on a long tail on the ground. The prehensile tail swirled under the painful crunch and yanked back. Out of the grass hopped a lizard the size of a average human. It had dull colored skin that turned bright orange to match its irritated mood. It snarled at Jesse. Hemals are low grade but dangerous still like the asatoad. Their fast on their feet. Can confuse their enemies with color changing skin that can make you dizzy if you stare too long. And also their sharp teeth and claws can inflict a nasty wound that can easily get infected.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessejames on Jan 29, 2020 0:44:34 GMT -6
The scales were too hard to pierce with his scythe, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He would just have to get it's defenseless underbelly. It tried to gouge him with it's claws, but he sidestepped it easily. He then followed up with a swift blow to it's underside, but he slightly missed his mark when the shifting colors disoriented him a little.
Not one to be deterred, he tried again-this time succeeding in finishing it.
|
|
|
|
Post by softscales on Jan 29, 2020 0:57:32 GMT -6
Not quite, for he did wound it with a deep cut, the creature refused to lay down and submit to it's demise. The hemal leaps at him. It flew passed missing but though it's tail managed to hit him in the leg. It clumsily lands near the base of a tree. It turns to attack again. Suddenly a large body drops like a rock on top of it. The hemal was held down by a clawed foot. The pressure worsened it's wound and it's fighting strength went down. The creature makes quick finishing it off.
With the fight over Jesse had a better chance to see what came and 'helped?' This creature stood like a person. In fact it nearly looked like a human itself. It had a slim feminine body with some mussel on it's shoulder and legs. Her skin was pasty pale. Long fire red hair tied in a low hanging ponytail. On her back were large leathery wings like a bat. A long thick tail. And her clothes were a rag loincloth and top. A female gargoyle. This creature was far higher than the low grade demons Jesse just faced since he stepped foot on this island.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessejames on Jan 29, 2020 1:00:23 GMT -6
He held his scythe in a defensive position, but hesitated to attack since she'd helped him just now. "Who are you?" He asked warily.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessejames on Jan 29, 2020 1:09:33 GMT -6
He was watching her carefully, analyzing her for any weaknesses in case it came to a fight. She was much more formidable than the lower demons, and could in fact be the one responsible for the disappearances.
|
|
|
|
Post by softscales on Jan 29, 2020 1:12:58 GMT -6
"So I was right. What I was seeing was a human," the gargoyle said, sidestepping his question. "Mearly out hunting and I keep smelling blood. And what do I find? Something that hasn't been here for ages." She toes the lizard to the side a little. "I suppose since you are the first I can at least answer your question. My name is Haru. Maybe you can kindly tell me yours?"
|
|
|
|
Post by jessejames on Jan 29, 2020 1:17:33 GMT -6
"I'm Jesse." Normally he would introduce himself with a cordial handshake, but now it was out if the question. "You said humans haven't been here in ages? How can that be?" She could easily be lying. But if she wasn't, then the vagueness of the reports and the lack of people to disappear here in the first place was concerning.
|
|
|
|
Post by softscales on Jan 29, 2020 1:26:09 GMT -6
"How can that be', just is." Haru answers. "Humans don't live here. If they did I don't believe it would be long." Haru reaches down and picks up the hemal and tucks it under her arm. Being mindful of the claws from scraping her skin. "Maybe you should be wise before you die on this island." The gargoyle was about to leave as she found her next meal.
|
|
